Delta variant making up 50% of COVID-19 cases in Pakistan: Dr Nausheen Hamid
July 13, 2021
- Dr Hamid says jabs used in Pakistan are effective against Delta variant.
- No vaccine 100% effective against Delta variant, she says.
- Getting vaccinated reduces chances of developing severe infection, she adds.
The Delta variant of the coronavirus — which first emerged in India — is now making up a whopping 50% of the total infections in Pakistan, Federal Parliamentary Health Secretary Dr Nausheen Hamid said Tuesday.
The lawmaker, speaking during Geo News' programme "Geo Pakistan", said the COVID-19 vaccines that Pakistan is administering are effective against the Delta variant.
Dr Hamid highlighted that no vaccine in the world is 100% effective against the Delta variant, however, if a person gets the jab, the virus will not affect their health badly.
Sindh detects 35 Delta variant cases
Following Dr Hamid's revelation, the Sindh Health Department, in a statement, confirmed detecting 35 cases of the coronavirus Delta variant in Karachi.
From June till now, there have been 35 verified cases of the Delta variant found in selected COVID-19 positive samples, the statement read, adding that the individuals who were carrying this variant showed extreme symptoms of the virus.
A family of five, living in the city's Lyari area, turned out to be COVID-19 positive with the delta variant. At present, all five are under treatment. In July, 18 cases of the Delta variant have been detected.
COVID-19 cases drop slightly
Pakistan's daily coronavirus case load dropped slightly for the second consecutive day after the country reported 1,590 new cases Tuesday morning.
The daily case count had been on an upward trend since July 7, but the country recorded a slight drop a day earlier and the downward trend continued today.
Another 21 people died of coronavirus in Pakistan in the last 24 hours, pushing the national death tally since the pandemic started to 22,618.
Latest data issued by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) Tuesday morning showed that after 43,790 tests were conducted on July 12, 1,590 people tested positive for coronavirus.
Pakistan's positivity rate is currently 3.63%. A day earlier, Pakistan's positivity rate, too, dropped after being on an upward trend for six consecutive days since July 6.
According to NCOC's figures, the total number of cases has reached 976,867.
Army to be called in again for implementation of SOPs
Moreover, the Pakistan Army will be called in once again for implementing the government's mandated coronavirus standard operations procedures (SOPs), the National Command and Operations Centres (NCOC) had decided later on Tuesday.
The Pakistan Army was last mobilised in April to enforce coronavirus safety protocols in several parts of the country after Prime Minister Imran Khan had sought its help in curbing the spread of the virus.
